Daniel Radcliffe to Play ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic in Biopic

Daniel Radcliffe will star in the title role of WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story.

The film, which is now in the works at Funny Or Die, will focus on the life and career of award-winning musician “Weird Al” Yankovic, who is known for his cutting pop culture parodies.

“When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule,” said Yankovic. “I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”

The biopic, which will star Radcliffe as Yankovic himself, “holds nothing back”. "[The biopic explores] every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle,” reads the official synopsis. “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.”

“Weird Al” Yankovic has won five Grammy awards during his career, in which he’s recorded more than 150 parodies and original songs. He even took over as Editor-in-chief of MAD magazine for a single issue.

“I am excited that my first project as the owner of Funny Or Die Studios is to help bring the story of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic to the screen,” said executive producer and Funny Or Die boss, Henry Muñoz III.

“Weird Al is a comic genius and his impact on pop culture, his mastery of the music video, his award-winning music and his incredible life are a perfect fit for the talented producers at FOD,” he added. “We are honored to partner with Roku, Tango and our director Eric Appel on this important movie. WEIRD has brought together a weird and wonderful team of creative people, to tell the story of a man who has made people laugh and sing across the world.”

WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story is being written by “Weird Al” Yankovic himself, alongside Eric Appel, who will also direct the movie. Yankovic is also on board as producer along with Mike Farah, Joe Farrell and Whitney Hodack for Funny Or Die, as well as Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva for Tango. Eric Appel, Henry Muñoz III and Neil Shah are executive producers.

Production for WEIRD: The Weird Al Yankovic Story will begin in Los Angeles in February.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Will Launch Next Month

Netflix has announced that The Cuphead Show will launch this February.

The streamer revealed that the 12-episode season will be available from February 18, 22. A brand new trailer accompanies the announcement, which can be watched below or on YouTube.

Each episode will run for 12 minutes, and follow the adventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious brother, Mugman as they explore the Inkwell Isles.

If you're looking for more Cuphead, you'll be pleased to know that Cuphead's DLC, The Delicious Last Course, has finally been given a release date. It means 2022 will deliver both watchable and playable versions of Cuphead.

You can also check out the original first look at The Cuphead Show, as well as its casting announcements.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Netflix’s The Cuphead Show Will Launch Next Month

Netflix has announced that The Cuphead Show will launch this February.

The streamer revealed that the 12-episode season will be available from February 18, 22. A brand new trailer accompanies the announcement, which can be watched below or on YouTube.

Each episode will run for 12 minutes, and follow the adventures of the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious brother, Mugman as they explore the Inkwell Isles.

If you're looking for more Cuphead, you'll be pleased to know that Cuphead's DLC, The Delicious Last Course, has finally been given a release date. It means 2022 will deliver both watchable and playable versions of Cuphead.

You can also check out the original first look at The Cuphead Show, as well as its casting announcements.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.

Willem Dafoe Has the Perfect Pitch to Become a Joker Imposter Alongside Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker

Green Goblin actor Willem Dafoe has revealed that he has "fantasised" about playing an imposter Joker alongside Joaquin Phoenix's Joker in a pitch that we really need to happen.

Dafoe was January 2021's GQ Hyper cover star and he was asked about the many people who have, over the years, said he'd be the perfect choice to become the Joker. Dafoe revealed that he has thought about it, but his pitch has a bit of twist to it.

"There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter," Dafoe said. "So it would be possible to have not duelling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn't the Joker. And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasised about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it], you're the first one.”

One can only hope Dafoe is not being completely truthful and that this dream of Dafoe's one day becomes a reality.

In October 2021, Phoenix revealed that while he doesn't know if a Joker 2 is actually happening, he is open to returning to the character as "there are some things we could do with this guy and could [explore] further."

In our rare 10/10 review of 2019's Joker, we said, "Joker isn’t just an awesome comic book movie, it’s an awesome movie, period. It offers no easy answers to the unsettling questions it raises about a cruel society in decline. Joaquin Phoenix’s fully committed performance and Todd Phillips’ masterful albeit loose reinvention of the DC source material make Joker a film that should leave comic book fans and non-fans alike disturbed and moved in all the right ways."

Dafoe most recently appeared as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home and shared that he didn't want to come back to the Spider-Man franchise if it was just by a simple cameo. He also talked about how he thought the criticism of Green Goblin's original mask was behind his character's new look in the latest Spidey film.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

God of War Has Passed Horizon Zero Dawn and Is Now Sony’s Biggest PC Launch

God of War on PC is off to a strong start and has passed Horizon Zero Dawn to become Sony's biggest launch on the platform with an all-time peak of 73,529 players so far,

The stats were revealed by SteamDB, a site that tracks Steam's data, and it revealed God of War reached that number on January 15 - one day after the once-PlayStation exclusive arrived on PC.

Furthermore, God of War was the best-selling game for the past week that ended on January 16, and it held off Monster Hunter Rise, Ready or Not, Elden Ring (pre-order), and more.

Prior to God of War's arrival on PC, Horizon Zero Dawn had the highest all-time peak for a Sony first-party game at 56,557 players. Days Gone, Sony's second first-party release on PC, topped out at 27,450 players.

Sony's focus on putting some of its biggest exclusives on PC appears to be working out in its favor, and God of War director Cory Barlog revealed that PlayStation's own studios were key in convincing Sony that it was a "really good idea" to make this happen.

Barlog and Santa Monica Studio lead UX designer Mila Pavlin also shared how bringing God of War to PC allowed them to not only take advantage and experiment with the increased power of PC, but it also gave them a chance to make it an even more accessible experience for all types of players.

In our God of War PC vs. PS5 Performance Review, we said that "this PC port offers some nice boosts over the PS4 Pro release, it scales well, and although impactful on hardware, it does give you the choice of increasing resolution, quality, frame rates, and even aspect ratio over what PlayStation consoles offer."

For more, check out all the latest news on God of War Ragnarok - the sequel that is set to arrive in 2022.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Moon Knight Release Date on Disney+ Revealed Alongside New Trailer

Alongside a brand new trailer, Marvel has revealed that Moon Knight will premiere on Disney+ on March 30, 2022.

The new trailer and release date were revealed during the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams Wild Card game and shows off our first real look at the upcoming series.

Set to Kid Cudi's Day 'N' Nite, the Moon Knight trailer follows Marc Spector, who at times thinks he is another man named Steven. He also seemingly can't tell the difference between "life and dreams." We see him struggling with this and even chaining himself to bed and waking up not realizing he was the one who did it. We also get our first real look at Ethan Hawke's Arthur Harrow, a cult leader who is said to be inspired by David Koresh.

It was previously unknown who Hawke was playing, but the closed captions on the YouTube trailer for Moon Knight on Marvel Entertainment's page reveal he will become Harrow, a character who only appeared in one comic - Moon Knight Vol. 2 #2 - and was a mad scientist who was working on stopping pain in the human body by using human subjects.

As the trailer continues, we see Spector "embracing the chaos" and becoming the titular Moon Knight, all while beating someone senseless in a bathroom.

Alongside the trailer, Marvel also released a brand-new poster that features a close-up of Moon Knight's arms and his weapon of choice - the moon-shaped shurikens known as Crescent Darts.

Oscar Isaac stars as Marc Spector, a character who suffers from a dissociative personality disorder. Disney's official description reveals a bit more of what's in store for the series.

"The multiple identities who live inside him find themselves thrust into a deadly war of the gods against the backdrop of modern and ancient Egypt," the official description reads.

For more, check out Hawke's story on how he joined Moon Knight and why Isaac called the workload for this MCU series the most challenging of his career.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Ubisoft Developing a Firefighting Game About the Notre-Dame Blaze

Ubisoft has partnered with Pathé to develop Notre-Dame on Fire, a location-based VR escape game based on Jean-Jacques Annaud's docudrama of the same name that will put players in the shoes of the Parisian fire brigade as they try to save the world-famous cathedral from the fire that broke out in 2019.

As reported by Variety, this one-hour experience will take players through the events of April 15, 2019, when flames nearly destroyed Notre-Dame. Ubisoft is no stranger to working with the cathedral, as a detailed model of it appears in Assassin's Creed Unity and in its short immersive VR experience Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time.

During the production of Annaud's Notre-Dame on Fire film, he reached out to Ubisoft to help him bring this complimentary experience to life.

"He knew that we had a special attachment to Notre Dame,” says Deborah Papiernik, Ubisoft senior VP new business and strategic alliances. “I guess that’s why he came to us. I don’t think he went to see [anyone else].”

Their discussions began in early 2021, and it was decided that, since the film is set for release in March 2022, Ubisoft knew it only had time to create a one-hour escape experience and could not make a "full-fledged game" in such a short period.

"Like any escape game, it’s a question of puzzles and co-operating with your teammates,” Papiernik explains. “The idea is to make your way through the cathedral to find relics and to fight the fire, because you have to save Notre Dame [before the clock runs out].”

Ubisoft had access to the film's screenplay and it worked closely with Annaud and his team to bring this vision to life.

“The fact that we had that access really nourished our team,” says Papiernik. “That doesn’t mean we translated everything to gameplay; rather, it offered our team food for thought for our adaptation.”

Annaud's film will be available in French theaters initially in March, but Ubisoft's VR tie-in will be available worldwide in the same month.

“It’s Notre Dame, so it’s Paris, and it’s a French movie, but this is a worldwide product,” says Papiernik. "We have 630 international partner locations that all have access to our games. [In March] they’ll have access to this latest one as soon as we push the button.”

This is another example of Ubisoft really leaning into the historical aspect of its games and experiences and follows its commitment to releasing Discovery Tour modes in Assassin's Creed games that lets players learn about the time periods these games take place in without the threat of danger.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Ubisoft Developing a Firefighting Game About the Notre-Dame Blaze

Ubisoft has partnered with Pathé to develop Notre-Dame on Fire, a location-based VR escape game based on Jean-Jacques Annaud's docudrama of the same name that will put players in the shoes of the Parisian fire brigade as they try to save the world-famous cathedral from the fire that broke out in 2019.

As reported by Variety, this one-hour experience will take players through the events of April 15, 2019, when flames nearly destroyed Notre-Dame. Ubisoft is no stranger to working with the cathedral, as a detailed model of it appears in Assassin's Creed Unity and in its short immersive VR experience Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time.

During the production of Annaud's Notre-Dame on Fire film, he reached out to Ubisoft to help him bring this complimentary experience to life.

"He knew that we had a special attachment to Notre Dame,” says Deborah Papiernik, Ubisoft senior VP new business and strategic alliances. “I guess that’s why he came to us. I don’t think he went to see [anyone else].”

Their discussions began in early 2021, and it was decided that, since the film is set for release in March 2022, Ubisoft knew it only had time to create a one-hour escape experience and could not make a "full-fledged game" in such a short period.

"Like any escape game, it’s a question of puzzles and co-operating with your teammates,” Papiernik explains. “The idea is to make your way through the cathedral to find relics and to fight the fire, because you have to save Notre Dame [before the clock runs out].”

Ubisoft had access to the film's screenplay and it worked closely with Annaud and his team to bring this vision to life.

“The fact that we had that access really nourished our team,” says Papiernik. “That doesn’t mean we translated everything to gameplay; rather, it offered our team food for thought for our adaptation.”

Annaud's film will be available in French theaters initially in March, but Ubisoft's VR tie-in will be available worldwide in the same month.

“It’s Notre Dame, so it’s Paris, and it’s a French movie, but this is a worldwide product,” says Papiernik. "We have 630 international partner locations that all have access to our games. [In March] they’ll have access to this latest one as soon as we push the button.”

This is another example of Ubisoft really leaning into the historical aspect of its games and experiences and follows its commitment to releasing Discovery Tour modes in Assassin's Creed games that lets players learn about the time periods these games take place in without the threat of danger.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Joss Whedon Responds to Justice League Allegations, Calls Cast Rude

Filmmaker Joss Whedon has broken his silence over allegations of misconduct while working on Justice League, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.

In an interview with New York Magazine, Whedon opened up about his experience taking over the directorial duties for Justice League following Zack Snyder's departure due to a sudden death in the family.

“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said before claiming that the decision to take over the project was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

When he was first brought on, Whedon said his role would strictly be limited to writing and advising, but "soon it became clear to Whedon they had lost faith in Snyder’s vision and wanted him to take full control." A WB representative denied this claim and Snyder has publicly revealed that he chose to leave Justice League to spend time with his family after his daughter had died by suicide.

After becoming the new director of Justice League, Whedon was in charge of nearly 40 days of reshoots and he admitted that "from the start, things were tense between him and the stars." Whedon's directorial style was much different than Snyder's, as he expected actors to read lines exactly as they are written while Snyder encouraged a bit more creative freedom.

An unnamed crew member shared to New York that this change "didn't go down well at all," especially after Whedon announced that he had never worked with "a ruder group of people." This went beyond simply directorial styles, however, as other actors would continue to criticize his writing. As an example, Whedon claims Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot's suggested that he "didn't understand how superhero movies worked."

Gadot has also publicly stated that, during the Justice League reshoots, Whedon "threatened her career" if she didn't read the lines as he wrote them for Wonder Woman or failed to follow his direction. She says Whedon went so far as to say he would "harm" her career if she continued to pushback on his rewrites.

“I don’t threaten people," Whedon said when asked about the allegations. "Who does that?”

He continued on to say that Gadot just "misunderstood him."

"English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said. He gave a specific example of a time when he was arguing with Gadot over a scene she wanted to cut. Whedon said that he "jokingly" told her "that if she wanted to get rid of it, she would have to tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body."

"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” Whedon added. Gadot told New York in an e-mail that this was not true and that she "understood perfectly" what was going on.

Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has also been vocal about his negative experience working on Justice League with Whedon. While Cyborg was a central focus on Snyder's version of the film, Whedon "downsized" his role and would end up cutting scenes that Fisher said "challenged stereotypes."

"It feels like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon told Fisher when the actor shared his concerns over the rewrites, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “and I don’t like taking notes from anybody — not even Robert Downey Jr.”

Fisher also accused Whedon of abusing his power and revealed he'd been told that the director had even digitally changed the skin tone of an actor of color because he didn't like the specific color of their skin.

Whedon was "stunned" when this allegation was brought up and said that he had "given the whole movie a lighter look, brightening everything in postproduction, including all the faces." He also said he cut down Cyborg's role in his version of the film because his story line "logically made no sense" and that he simply felt Fisher's acting was not great.

He said he spent hours discussing these changes with Fisher in conversations that were "friendly and respectful." Whedon believes that none of the claims Fisher has made are "either true or merited discussing."

"We’re talking about a malevolent force,” he said on the topic of Fisher's motives. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”

Following Fisher's allegations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter also spoke out against Whedon and said he created "hostile and toxic work environments since his early career." She also said that he "callously" called her fat to colleagues when she was four months pregnant.

While Whedon agreed he "was not mannerly," he remembered his time working with Carpenter much differently.

"Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming," Whedon said. "She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.” He also said he "did not call her fat."

The interview goes into much more detail on Whedon's career, including his time working on Firefly, his younger days when he was not as "civilized," his denial of allegations of physical abuse, relationships with actresses while married, and much more.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Joss Whedon Responds to Justice League Allegations, Calls Cast Rude

Filmmaker Joss Whedon has broken his silence over allegations of misconduct while working on Justice League, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.

In an interview with New York Magazine, Whedon opened up about his experience taking over the directorial duties for Justice League following Zack Snyder's departure due to a sudden death in the family.

“They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help,” Whedon said before claiming that the decision to take over the project was one of the biggest regrets of his life.

When he was first brought on, Whedon said his role would strictly be limited to writing and advising, but "soon it became clear to Whedon they had lost faith in Snyder’s vision and wanted him to take full control." A WB representative denied this claim and Snyder has publicly revealed that he chose to leave Justice League to spend time with his family after his daughter had died by suicide.

After becoming the new director of Justice League, Whedon was in charge of nearly 40 days of reshoots and he admitted that "from the start, things were tense between him and the stars." Whedon's directorial style was much different than Snyder's, as he expected actors to read lines exactly as they are written while Snyder encouraged a bit more creative freedom.

An unnamed crew member shared to New York that this change "didn't go down well at all," especially after Whedon announced that he had never worked with "a ruder group of people." This went beyond simply directorial styles, however, as other actors would continue to criticize his writing. As an example, Whedon claims Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot's suggested that he "didn't understand how superhero movies worked."

Gadot has also publicly stated that, during the Justice League reshoots, Whedon "threatened her career" if she didn't read the lines as he wrote them for Wonder Woman or failed to follow his direction. She says Whedon went so far as to say he would "harm" her career if she continued to pushback on his rewrites.

“I don’t threaten people," Whedon said when asked about the allegations. "Who does that?”

He continued on to say that Gadot just "misunderstood him."

"English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech," Whedon said. He gave a specific example of a time when he was arguing with Gadot over a scene she wanted to cut. Whedon said that he "jokingly" told her "that if she wanted to get rid of it, she would have to tie him to a railroad track and do it over his dead body."

"Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track,” Whedon added. Gadot told New York in an e-mail that this was not true and that she "understood perfectly" what was going on.

Cyborg actor Ray Fisher has also been vocal about his negative experience working on Justice League with Whedon. While Cyborg was a central focus on Snyder's version of the film, Whedon "downsized" his role and would end up cutting scenes that Fisher said "challenged stereotypes."

"It feels like I’m taking notes right now,” Whedon told Fisher when the actor shared his concerns over the rewrites, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “and I don’t like taking notes from anybody — not even Robert Downey Jr.”

Fisher also accused Whedon of abusing his power and revealed he'd been told that the director had even digitally changed the skin tone of an actor of color because he didn't like the specific color of their skin.

Whedon was "stunned" when this allegation was brought up and said that he had "given the whole movie a lighter look, brightening everything in postproduction, including all the faces." He also said he cut down Cyborg's role in his version of the film because his story line "logically made no sense" and that he simply felt Fisher's acting was not great.

He said he spent hours discussing these changes with Fisher in conversations that were "friendly and respectful." Whedon believes that none of the claims Fisher has made are "either true or merited discussing."

"We’re talking about a malevolent force,” he said on the topic of Fisher's motives. “We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.”

Following Fisher's allegations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Charisma Carpenter also spoke out against Whedon and said he created "hostile and toxic work environments since his early career." She also said that he "callously" called her fat to colleagues when she was four months pregnant.

While Whedon agreed he "was not mannerly," he remembered his time working with Carpenter much differently.

"Most of my experiences with Charisma were delightful and charming," Whedon said. "She struggled sometimes with her lines, but nobody could hit a punch line harder than her.” He also said he "did not call her fat."

The interview goes into much more detail on Whedon's career, including his time working on Firefly, his younger days when he was not as "civilized," his denial of allegations of physical abuse, relationships with actresses while married, and much more.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.